Instead of spreading contaminants with mops, there's a better way to clean restrooms. Kaivac's systems are proven to be up to 60 times more effective at cleaning than a mop - in less than half the time.Read MoreFind the system that's right for your restrooms:Find Your Kaivac System

Thoroughly removing contaminants from floors not only helps protect human health, but promotes floor safety as well. Kaivac's No-Touch Cleaning® and Crossover Cleaning™ systems have been certified by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) as providing 'High Traction.' Read MoreFind the system that's right for you:Find Your Kaivac System

Kaivac offers a number of portable multipurpose cleaning solutions for pet facilities. Their systems allow workers to thoroughly clean floors, kennels, examination rooms, grooming areas and any other hard surface 60 times better than mops - without having to touch contaminated and unpleasant soils and surfaces.Read MoreFind the system that's right for your facility:Find Your Kaivac System

Kaivac delivers turnkey hygienic cleaning and measurement systems that enable facility service providers to remove the maximum amount of bio-pollution and then prove it through rapid hygiene measurement technology.Read MoreFind the system that's right for you:Find Your Kaivac System

Kaivac offers green cleaning technologies and practices that are designed to thoroughly remove potentially harmful soils and other bio-pollutants in order to produce and maintain a truly healthy indoor environment.Read MoreFind the system that's right for you:Find Your Kaivac System

Making the most of your cleaning investment is more important now than ever. Simplify your life, increase efficiency and save on equipment costs by eliminating the need for additional equipment such as: auto scrubbers, wet vacuums, dry vacuums, carpet extractors, pressure washers, grout cleaning machines, janitor carts, and more. Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning systems accommodate a wide range of accessories, making them perfect for a variety of jobs and settings.Read MoreFind the system that's right for you:Find Your Kaivac System

Bad weather can be a building owner's nightmare. Rain, snow, salt, mud and more wreak havoc on floors and entryways creating a costly and dangerous situation. Just as bad, they leave a bad impression on customers and employeesRead MoreFind the system that's right for your floors:Find Your Kaivac System

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we’re heading for a very active flu season. The CDC says that in January 2018, about six percent of the US population visited a healthcare provider because they had influenza-like symptoms. This is three times the average rate.

Further, this is happening in just about every state. To address the problem, the CDC recommends that everyone gets vaccinated. But statistics show that only about 60 percent of the people living in this country do get a flu shot; the remainder do not for a variety of reasons.

This puts pressure on cleaning professionals to make sure the facilities they maintain are clean and healthy.

The big problem is that when someone has the flu, they often sneeze or cough, releasing the flu virus, which lands on surrounding surfaces touched by others. These flu “bugs” are pretty hardy. They typically survive about 48 hours on non-porous surfaces.

This means that not only will we have to make our cleaning routines more effective by using no-touch cleaning systems, but we should also start testing our work. This will tell us if the surfaces we have just cleaned are free of germs and bacteria. And the best way to do this is by using an ATP rapid monitoring system, which many cleaning professionals are already using.

However, many of us are not sure what an ATP system is or how it works. As a result, we asked Terry Schawe, head of research and development at Kaivac, to bring us up to speed about this technology.

Terry, what exactly does ATP stand for?

It stands for Adenosine Triphosphate. This is an energy carrier found in all living organisms. Without it, cells could not transfer energy from one location to another, making it impossible for organisms to survive.

How do these rapid monitoring systems work?

Ever heard of fireflies? The tail of a firefly lights up as a result of a chemical reaction in their bodies. When oxygen and ATP, (and some other compounds) mix, it produces light. This light and the intensity of this light is picked up by the ATP monitor after swabbing a small surface and placing the swab in the monitor. The swab lets us know if ATP is present and the reading also gives us an idea of the amount.

Can we see ATP with the naked eye?

No, these are minute organisms. We cannot see ATP nor would a surface covered with ATP give any indication it is present.

How should we use it?

Do before and after tests. For instance test a restroom or even a door handle before cleaning. The ATP monitor will indicate if ATP is present and the amount. Let’s say we conducted a test of a door handle. The ATP monitor gave us a reading of 90, which indicates a significant amount of ATP is present.

After we clean that door handle, we may get the following results:

71 or higher; that means the cleaning was not effective

36 to 70; cleaning is better but stills needs improvement

35 or less; we did the job. A reading this low indicates the cleaning was effective.

“You can use ATP monitoring systems not just during the flu season, but for demonstrating cleaning effectiveness as well,” says Schawe. “Many contractors test surfaces before cleaning and then again after cleaning with a No-Touch Cleaning® system. They show the before and after results to the client. When a lot of ATP is removed, it makes a powerful impression.”

Robert Kravitz

Robert Kravitz is a former building service contractor, having owned, operated, and then sold three contract cleaning companies in Northern California.

He is the author of two books about the industry and continues to be a frequent writer for the industry.

Robert is now president of AlturaSolutions Communications, which provides communications and marketing services for organizations in the professional cleaning and building industries.

Related Topics

Kaivac, developers of the No-Touch Cleaning® system, has just released results of tests conducted at the ISSA/INTERCLEAN® tradeshow in Orlando comparing the effectiveness of cleaning floors with the Kaivac system versus using new, unused, high-quality microfiber floor pads.

ATP is the primary energy transfer molecule present in all living biological cells on Earth. ATP cannot be produced or maintained by anything but a living organism, and as such, its measurement is a direct indication of biological activity.

Related Products

Kaivac delivers the industry's first turnkey cleaning delivery and measurement program by combining the soil and microbial removal capabilities of its patented No-Touch Cleaning® systems with the rapid detection capabilities of the SystemSURE PLUS ATP Measurement System (ATP meter).

When it comes to restrooms and other heavily soiled areas, nothing beats Spray-and-Vac cleaning. Kaivac’s No-Touch Cleaning systems are built for extreme soil removal, empowering workers to clean hygienically without touching contaminated surfaces. Plus, it cuts labor, chemical and equipment costs.
Achieving great, consistent results is easy with these patented systems. Simply apply automatically diluted cleaning solution to fixtures and floors in a low pressure fan spray, and then rinse surfaces and floors with always-fresh, clean water. The built-in power of the indoor pressure washer flushes soils out of grout lines and tight places that mops can’t reach. Finally, just vacuum the floor dry -- completely removing soils, moisture and contaminants from all surfaces, grout lines and crevices, leaving the floor virtually dry and soil free.
The Kaivac 1750 is perfect for areas large and small. It boasts a 17 gallon fresh water and a 17 gallon recovery tank. The system is powered by a 500 p.s.i. pump and a powerful 3-stage wet/dry vacuum.

Kaivac's Ergo Speed Spreader is a flat mop assembly combining Kaivac's Ergo Mop Handle with the 18" Pad Holder along with 2 spreader pads for rapidly spreading cleaning solution. This practical accessory can be used with any Kaivac system but is particularly useful with the OmniFlex Dispense-and-Vac systems.

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